[AlanHo]

Last year Libby returned home from a shopping bonanza armed with her latest gadget - something called a Spriralizer. She explained that it would create a whole new world of culinary delights with spiralised vegetables and fruit etc. I couldn't see how it might benefit me - my favourite veg is sprouts. I confess I scoffed - and told her that it would be yet another 5 minute wonder.  Initially almost every meal had lurking in it some poor demented vegetable that had suffered a spiralising death - but as the year went by I noticed that the use of this infernal gadget was slowly waning. I thougt it best not to say anything - or it would sponsor an instant revival.

This morning I went to get something out of our shed and I noticed on the back of her shelf ( Yes - I allocated her, her own shelf in MY shed) - tucked behind some boxes of rose food and other gardening goodies - was the spiralizer.

There it was, in the kitchen gadget graveyard, to keep company with :-

The Kenwood electric meat slicer that was going to save time and produce beautifully sliced roast joints. I could slice a whole cow by hand in the time it took to clean the bloody thing after each use

The Heston Blumenthal Sage Juicer that was going to enable her to enjoy a plethora of delicious low calorie juices to enhance her diet and well-being. She soon got tired of slurping slimy slop

A super duper chrome toaster that only takes small pieces of bread

An egg pricker and shell topper

A cheese slicer - it's like a guillotine with a thin wire for a blade. The wire broke when I used it to cut a block of parmesan.

An electric can opener

Aa electric vegetable steamer

An electric knife sharpener which turns a decent carving knife into a blunt, wavy edged, blue with heat, wreck

A small wicker basket containing an assortment of can openers, cork screws, etc.

A fancy cup-cake tier stand

A turntable to facilitate icing round cakes (she now only does square ones because they are easier to slice equally)

That's as far back on the shelf as I got.

That retail menace and a wife magnet called Lakeland, has a lot to answer for. :err:

 

Our bottom shelf in the kitchen is loaded with unused devices, electric spice grinder - blender - hand mixer and who knows what else if I could get down there to look

The only devices that really gets a lot of use are the slow cooker - rice steamer -sandwich press (toasty maker) - pod coffee machine and my favourite! the Nutri Bullet, love my my banana smoothies

[andsome]

I do the cooking. I have a bread machine, an electric whisk,a slow cooker, a microwave, and that's about it. I don't waste my money.

[AlanHo]

I do the cooking. I have a bread machine, an electric whisk,a slow cooker, a microwave, and that's about it. I don't waste my money.

So you don't eat toast, have a proper roast dinner or deep fry anything then. WOW

[Shambles]

How could anyone manage without a kettle?

[andsome]

I do the cooking. I have a bread machine, an electric whisk,a slow cooker, a microwave, and that's about it. I don't waste my money.

So you don't eat toast, have a proper roast dinner or deep fry anything then. WOW

I forgot the toaster and frying pan. We do have roast spuds but of course they are done in the oven. I didn't think I had to mention normal everyday things,or I would have mentioned the sink and saucepans. 

[AlanHo]

Boil water in a saucepan - that's what one of my grans did.

andsome is very old and set in his ways - so it is probably the case..

He should add kettles to his list of pet hates..............

Can always boil water in the microwave

[AlanHo]

Our kettle is too tall to fit in the microwave................

[Shambles]

An egg pricker and shell topper

I got a pricker with my electronic egg boiler, but WTF is a shell topper?

[Lakes]

only thing I won't buy is a slow cooker, my 97y o father used one for years, then threw it out.
I have a gas webber bar b q that gets used more than anything. its not a kitchen thing I know but, I'm not alone on this, next door also cook out on balcony using a gas webber. we cook a lot of seafood. fish mostly. the electric jug gets a lot of use and the Nutri bullit. micro wave only use that for porridge. the webber gets used all year round.
do you chaps in GB use Webber's too

[Dazzler]

Yep, this thread certainly relates to us too. I think you hit the nail on the head Alan with the cleaning thing. Most of these gadgets take longer to clean or assemble than the time they save in use!

Your spiralizer was called a vegetti over here I suspect. We picked up a cheap one at a discount store and me being me, found another (supposedly better quality one) on line. Neither have ever been used.

We have all the mentioned gadgets archived along with a few others, like a dryer (air) fryer. Trish doesn't do healthy, still preferring to use the quicker and easier deep fryer for the kids. Although, she has started using our convection microwave for cooking oven fries for herself (she is a bit of a "chipaholic")

We even have a pancake cooker which does get used although an electric frying pan will do the exact same thing.

We bought a dinky (20cm) square electric frying pan the other day on a whim for taking with us when we travel for those  places that don't have a microwave. 

How about spares? Somehow we have even ended up with spare (brand new) 4 slice and 2 slice toasters! Although we have been known to take a toaster on holidays too (just incase) 

I must get into using our "cheap" version of the Nutri Bullet again.. at least it is out on the bench. 

[AlanHo]

@Shambles

It is a little device with a hole in the middle, the diameter of the top of a typical egg. Protruding from the side is what looks like scissors. You pop the device on top of the egg and squeeze the "scissors" together in your fingers. This actuates a stainless steel set of serrated blades - configured to look like the iris in a camera lens. These blades then close together and cut the top off the egg.

You then clean up the kitchen because the device has cut into the soft yolk which has squirted everywhere.

Masochistic and sadist gays might find one useful as a sex toy......


Egg Topper - Stainless Steel Soft Boiled Egg Top Remover Cutter Scissors | eBay

[AlanHo]

Trish doesn't do healthy, still preferring to use the quicker and easier deep fryer for the kids.

I hope you mean deep fried goat.....otherwise it's a sadistic way to cull the family..........

[Dazzler]

Trish doesn't do healthy, still preferring to use the quicker and easier deep fryer for the kids.

I hope you mean deep fried goat.....otherwise it's a sadistic way to cull the family..........

SHe only uses it on the naughty ones..  There are still more than enough left to get on my goat.. 

[John B]

 @ Alan The best appliances my wife bought was a Turbo Cooker, ( the one with the glass bowl )  it cooks with an element and fan on the top. As there are only two of us it works out well,saves heating up our big oven and cooks great. Easy to clean. The appliance I hate is an egg steam cooker, it has a buzzer timer that is so loud it nearly gives me a heart attack when it goes off . I swear it is going to shatter my spectacles and the windows one day.

[Dazzler]

@ Alan The best appliances my wife bought was a Turbo Cooker, ( the one with the glass bowl )  it cooks with an element and fan on the top. As there are only two of us it works out well,saves heating up our big oven and cooks great. Easy to clean. The appliance I hate is an egg steam cooker, it has a buzzer timer that is so loud it nearly gives me a heart attack when it goes off . I swear it is going to shatter my spectacles and the windows one day.

We have a turbo cooker but we only ever used it for Chickens. Now the BBQ ones are only $8 from Coles and Woolies it's easier just to buy them.

We also have one of those egg cookers! Is yours the same as ours with 3 white egg poaching dishes? when the water evaporates the noisy alarm goes off and the eggs are done. Ours sure is noisy too!

[andsome]

Boil water in a saucepan - that's what one of my grans did.

andsome is very old and set in his ways - so it is probably the case..

He should add kettles to his list of pet hates..............

Ill have you know Mr Ho, we have just had to buy a brand new electric kettle, the other one packed up a few days ago.

I can never understand why in almost all American films that show someone in a very expensive kitchen and they put the kettle on, it is almost always  a whistling kettle put onto a gas cooker.

Our kettle is too tall to fit in the microwave................

Just as well if it's a stainless steel one (kids do not try at home )